Monday, June 29, 2009

My awesome brother, Ryan, flew me down to Arizona to visit with him & his family for a coupl days :)

...Then I'd drive up to Utah with Lena (sister-in-law) and the kids (my adorable nieces & nephews) They are going to visit Lena's family, up in Idaho, while Ryan stays in Arizona and works...'til he flies up for our Family Reunion!

I just wish Adam could've come!...but he had to be at work.

..being a grown up stinks sometimes. But overall, i love it!

Here are a few of our adventures on this short, but incredibly fun, trip to my brother & his family's beautiful home in AZ!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Adam's favorite type of pizza is BBQ chicken...so that's what he got :)

I, on the other hand, am always incredibly indecisive when it comes to new restaurants (we've never been to Cal. Pizza Kitchen) So, i asked our server and he highly recommended the Pear & Gorganzola pizza...he says I need to like strong cheeses, which I do, so you can guess what I ordered...

To say that it was delicious is an understatement...

...to say it's flavors complimented each otherPERFECTLY is an understatement...

...to say it makes my tummy rumble just thinking about it, is a huge understatement.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Adam & I were lucky enough to be able to be on our ward's Youth Conference Committee. We've been so excited for the past few months...going to planning meetings, and working with some awesome people to coordinate a retreat for our Youth that they wouldn't forget and that would hopefully change them for the better. Adam and I were in charge of planning some fun games for a few hours each day...the kids were such a blast!!

The Youth Conference was held at a cabin up at Bear Lake. It was beautiful!! Even though it was a bit rainy and overcast almost the whole time, I was happy (reminds me of home -- Vancovuer, WA). Before heading out, the kids were divided into 5 teams (each with a leader) for a RoAd RaLLeY! It was a scavenger hunt that the kids thought was just supposed to pump up the energy and get them some prizes ;) but what they didn't know was that there were undercover actors planted along their way that were all in need of something...one was a homeless man in need of food & money...another was a woman at a cemetery mourning her young daughter that passed away, she just needed someone to talk to...another was a woman in a grocery store who dropped all her oranges. Even though helping these people was inconvenient for the youth (i mean, they were in it to win it!) and it would've slowed them down, every group did awesome and helped them out! We actually videotaped the actors after, asking them how the kids interacted with them, and they were all very positive :) Back at the cabin, the kids saw the video of the actors, and then we showed them a video of the Good Samaritan...teaching them that service usually never fits with our schedules, but it we'll be blessed for it!!

Oh, and on our way to the cabin we stopped by theSalomon Centerin Ogden for some awesome activities...we're talking indoor sky diving (iFly) & indoor surfing/bodyboarding (iSurf)! The kids had a riot!!

* Here's Adam showing us how it's done in the iSurf ...he's not a skateboarder/snowboarder like some of the other boys, so it took him a little bit to get the hang of it...but that didn't stop him! ** Michael (one of the youth) was way good at the iSurf!! ** Mitch in the iFlywind tunnel...their 1st time in the instructor keeps them pretty low to the ground and helps them get a feel for how everything works ** Brooke on her 2nd round, going way up there! ** Adam & I waited at Smith's to interview some of the actors from the scavenger hunt...it was sunny...and their was a SNOWCONE SHACK...perfect ;) ** Our good friend Chris & Adam outside with the guys...surrounding the BBQ ** I was the instigator of the late Friday night..."let's play another game guys!!" here's us getting ready for another round of SPOONS...i love our youth *

Saturday morning we got up, filled out bellies with a huge breakfast, and headed to Minnetonka Cave. It was a bit rainy, but we were prepared!! Garbage bags anyone??* Brooke & Hannah sporting our awesome rain gear ** Our little hike to the cave...gorgeous ** Minnetonka Cave! ** They gave each formation pretty creative names, which made the tour pretty interesting! This one was Kermit's castle :) ** these were my favorite rocks ... they're called Popcorn Rocks *

When we reached the very end of the cave, the tour guide (who just happened to be LDS) had everyone hold onto the "Iron Rod" and he would turn out the lights while he hiked back a ways...it was DARK...thank goodness for that Iron Rod! ;)* Adam holding on the Iron Rod ;) *

Back at the cabin, we had everyone play a really fun game!! It's called "Who Did What." It's a great way to see how well you know people, and it helps getting to know them better too :) It was a hit!!* Zach, 2nd from the right, trying to hide behind his paper cause he couldn't keep a straight face, haha!! ** The leaders had some great unique stories!! *

After lunch, we headed out for what was called the "Burden Hike." We expected it to turn out really great...

it turned out even better.

* Here's the hill the youth had to climb up...they were given buckets at the bottom, and told not to let the buckets touch the ground *

* Along the trail, 5 leaders were ready with a shovel to scoop dirt & large (we're talkin' some 30 lbs.) rocks (burdens) into their buckets, while telling them what the burden was...some said "you lied to your parents," others said, "you gave into peer pressure & started drugs" *

* The youth were really struggling toward the top...the buckets were full of "burdens" *

* but near the top, our awesome Bishop Howard waited for them...he was there to help them carry their bucket to the top *

* After the Bishop explained to them that this hike is a lot like life, and we don't need to carry our "burdens" the whole way up, HE helped them get rid of their "burdens" & lightened their load ** Mitch, who has Asperger's syndrome & is pretty small for his age, was carried up by a leader...everyone was so touched by this Christ-like act of kindness *

* And this was another awesome thing that happened, the last kid (the biggest and strongest) up the hill was James...the leaders filled his buckets to their max...he was struggling...but his brother, Michael, & sister, Hannah, came down to help him the rest of the way...Family is always there for you :) *

* Here are most of the men (Adam, Dave, Chris, & Chris) who filled the kids' buckets with "burdens" *

We had a solid testimony meeting at the top of the hill...I tell you, Youth Conference builds up the leaders as much as the Youth!! :)

* Shepard View Ward Youth Conference 2009 *

Again, we felt so blessed to be a part of such a fun & uplifting experience with our ward...it gave us another confirmation that this is where we're supposed to be :)

Friday, June 5, 2009

I get to be reunited with my other half tonight!! yahoo! :) It's honestly been a loooooonnnngg 3 days.

I can't wait to hold him...

I do have to say though...us being apart has actually brought back some sweet memories :) Let me explain...well, since he's been away, it's reminded me a lot of when we were dating at college! (at least on week days...we tried to be good students;)

I've had some major dajavu moments the last few days...

***

getting butterflies in my stomach from an unexpected text

***

hanging up from a phone call & having a perma-smile for 3 hours

***

counting down the hours 'til Friday night

***

thinking of the outfit I'd wear for our Friday night date

***

and going to bed wishing i could dream of him

(i rarely dream...bummer)

***

So, I thought I'd take a little stroll down memory lane of our courtship :) Here are a couple pictures from when we were dating...

I'm the luckiest.

* Halloween '07...we can't help how ridiculously good looking we are *

* winter time '07 ... date night with one plate of pasta :)

Lady & the Tramp style... ** December '07 ...Adam came to my Vancouver!!

Jumpin' in the good ol' NW rain... ** February '08 ... dinner before Valentine's Dance at BYUI <3>

* January 26th, 2008 ... my birthday dinner at Adam's apartment

... just before Adam's 007 surprise purposal! *
* May '08 ... he came to Vancouver for me to receive my endowments in the Portland Temple *

If any of you have seen the show Friends...you'll know what I mean by:
HE'S MY LOBSTER

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Last night on my way home from the gym I decided to give the hubby a call :)

He just happened to be on his way home too...woohoo!

I said:

"What should we have for dinner tonight lover?"He said:

"Anything sounds good."

I said:"Well, I could drop by the store & grab some peppers & mushrooms & we could use the chicken we have to make some BBQ cabobs...Or we could have some pasta & veggies...Or we could have the left over chicken cattiatore from last night that you also had for lunch today?" (I say the last part with a sarcastic giggle)

He said:

"The left overs sounds great!" (is he amazing or what??)

I said:

"I can most definitely deal with that...See you in a bit babe! I love you!!!!"

He said:

"Love you more."

...I get home about 15 minutes before he & his hott bod walk in the door. He tells me he's had a pretty lloooooooonnngg day at work...his company is moving locations (big upgrade! I'm excited for him!) & the new place doesn't have AC running quite yet...so moving lots of boxes & furniture & having meetings in an 80 degree building kind of took it out of him :( He just wanted a night to relax...like I said before, I can deal with that! And before I know it, he pulls a few grocery bags from behind his back...full of surprise treats for the our fun & relaxing night! In the sacks were a couple bags or tortilla chips, cheese dip, sweet & spicy salsa, & blueberry muffins for breakfast (which we enjoyed this morning)....honestly, I would've gone straight to the ice-cream isle for my treat...but his choices were pretty darn tasty! And since our house isn't much better than his office (our AC needs to be fixed, *sigh*)...He then said he wanted to go see a movie, in the cool (temperature) movie theater...3rd time of the night: I can deal with that!! It was almost 8 by then...(yes, we eat dinner a lot later than we probably should)...and the movie UP was playing at 8:50...perfect. We had just enough time to gobble down some quick nachos, and get some snacks ready to smuggle in the theater (there is no chance I'm going to let the movie theater rob me with their outrageous prices for food!)...we popped some popcorn, put it in a zip-lock, Adam grabbed some peanut M&M's & I grabbed some gummi life savers (candies from our cubscout treat bowl, haha)...We put everything in one of my "Mary Poppins" purses (as the hubby always likes to call them) and we head off to a night at the theater :)

The movie was awesome!!! It honestly made me feel every emotion in the book!...watch it and you'll see =) It had some really great morals that Adam & I talked about on the way home...it was one of those movies that make you smile from ear to ear after you watch it... :)

About Me

My name is Haley and I am lucky enough to be a wife to my best friend, Adam. He's my partner in this adventure of parenthood we're on together. I am "Mama" to our awesome son Brooks and our beautiful daughter Ava. Life is so sweet. And by recording the little moments that make me smile, laugh, cry, get butterflies, have regrets, learn lessons, gain talents, and help me grow, I'll be able to savor those moments more than once. xo